The mother of a 21-year-old man killed in an apparent animal attack has said he ‘fought for his life.’
Swan River Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) received a call on September 9 regarding a ‘suspicious death’ on the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation reservation in Manitoba, Canada.
Per a statement shared on social media, RCMP found a man ‘deceased’ on a community road, later determining his death to be from an animal attack, though which animal caused the fatal wounds remains a mystery.
They said: ‘Officers secured the scene and RCMP Major Crime Services took charge of the investigation.
‘Following an autopsy, the preliminary cause of death was determined to be from an animal attack. The type of animal has not been determined.’
The man has since been identified as Moses Campeau, with his mother, Paula Campeau, telling CTV that she believes her son was mauled by a bear.
’My Moses was a gentleman,’ she said. ‘People called on him all the time… He would take his shirt off his back for you. He was a jack of all trades.
‘He would throw tires around like nothing. He was literally [lifting] up my washer, dryer all by himself, setting it up … like he was lifting up logs, gathering our firewood by himself. That’s how strong this man was.’
She said that on the day he was killed, he had dropped off his brother and was heading to a memorial celebration for his late cousin.
Paula recalled that ‘two women in a truck’ found Moses’ body and called the police, claiming that it took ambulances two hours to arrive at the scene.
She said he was ‘still alive’ when the women found him, and they attempted to perform CPR and covered his wounds with towels while waiting.
’He was still alive,’ Paula alleged, ‘He was on his back, lying on his back, and they were shocked to find him the way they found him.
‘He was groaning. About an hour and a half, (one of them) said he took his last breath. My son fought for his life.’
CBC reported that, as of September 14, police have ruled out bears as being responsible for the attack.
Paula said that RCMP initially treated his death as a homicide, and that she was able to view her son’s face following the attack.
She continued: ‘There was no black eye, no cut lip, no bleeding nose. He had like one scratch on his brow, and it was not a slice … it was a deep scratch.
‘So I knew right away this boy was not killed by a human. I knew that just by watching his face.’
After an autopsy, the preliminary cause of death was determined to be an animal attack, police said. An investigation into the attack continues.
A provincial spokesperson said in a statement: ‘While the work is continuing to make a determination on what kind of animal may have been involved, the preliminary investigation has been able to rule out a bear attack.’